Organization & Work Management FAQs

How would PaSTA enhance the standard ERP functionality with regards to the identification of maintenance work?

ORGANIZATION WORK MGMT PROCESS: FAQ 1 OF 10

All work can be viewed on one page without having to navigate to multiple screens. This provides the user with a simple but powerful overview of all the work in one simple view.

How would PaSTA enable the validation, prioritization and authorization of work requested?

ORGANIZATION WORK MGMT PROCESS: FAQ 2 OF 10

Each job and activity that needs to be validated, prioritized and authorized is closely controlled by security. PaSTA also allows the organization to build flow charts to control work flow processes. PaSTA also can use the existing ERP business rules to verify that a work request is legitimate. If a job is rejected for any reason a notice is given to the user and guidance as to what is needed to correct the issue. If the job is accepted the work request will be turned into a work order and passed back into PaSTA. This work order will replace the work request already in PaSTA. This process allows the user to conduct all of their work in one program. The custom construction of work request forms allows the organization to streamline the process and allows it to be adjusted as the organization matures.

How does PaSTA provide the functionality to support the 6 planning sub activities of: What must be done, who must do it, spares required, tools required, estimated duration, estimated cost?

ORGANIZATION WORK MGMT PROCESS: FAQ 3 OF 10

1. PaSTA provides the visibility to see all work and has built in ‘process controls’ to ensure the process to address work is followed. If not, the breakdown is identified and the responsible group is automatically notified. 2. PaSTA allows the ‘process controls’ to be classified by group(s) or individuals and their activities tracked. 3. These are visible to everyone and are a simple ‘drag and drop’ to ensure the spares /equipment are reserved. 4. Each job’s duration can be modified to ensure that the job fits the work schedule. These jobs can be grouped and sorted biased by; time, area, priority, equipment, etc. Jobs can also be grouped so they are kept together regardless of how things move around on the schedule (relationships; start to start, start to finish, etc.). PaSTA allows the user to sum up the estimated cost for a job, group of jobs, a project or a work week. This allows the organization to do cash flow analysis.

How does PaSTA enable the scheduling and allocation of tasks/orders to ensure the availability of the equipment requiring work, resources, spares and tools?

ORGANIZATION WORK MGMT PROCESS: FAQ 4 OF 10

Spares, equipment, tools are tracked inside of PaSTA the same way as resources; by availability and qualification. These are visible to everyone and are a simple ‘drag and drop’ to ensure the spares, equipment is reserved.

How does the PaSTA determine the availability of resources?

ORGANIZATION WORK MGMT PROCESS: FAQ 5 OF 10

PaSTA has two ways to determine resources availability:

1. Shift patterns can be imbedded within one another. The definition of a shift pattern is the shortest amount of time before the pattern repeats; e.g. 4×10, 5×8 are 1 week patterns; “rolling 90” is an example of multiple week patterns.

How does PaSTA enable timeous and effective execution of the task through issuing of task, risk management, permitting and closing?

ORGANIZATION WORK MGMT PROCESS: FAQ 6 OF 10

PaSTA has a built in process called “break points” that require the responsible parties to determine risk, permitting and close out execution. Programmable “break points”, color coding for quick visual indicators and process flow diagrams are built in.

How does PaSTA ensure that all required fields on the work order are complete?

ORGANIZATION WORK MGMT PROCESS: FAQ 7 OF 10

Any type of field can be flagged as a ‘required’ field with the option of adding or removing these settings as an organization grows and changes.

How does PaSTA identify tasks that require inspections upon task completion and issue a task to the person responsible for quality control?

ORGANIZATION WORK MGMT PROCESS: FAQ 8 OF 10

PaSTA allows for feedback forms to be triggered based off of other fields; e.g. if PMT is required a close out form is triggered and an e-mail sent to the responsible people. These forms are customizable and can be triggered based on different needs.

How does PaSTA ensure that all required fields on the work order are complete before closing the order?

ORGANIZATION WORK MGMT PROCESS: FAQ 9 OF 10

PaSTA allows the creation of ‘process controls’ to be applied to fields on a work order, e.g. a series of compare statements can be set to ensure that when a work order is set to a status, the process control is run and if it fails a message is displayed for the user to adjust the work order.

How does the application monitor the completeness of closed work orders?

ORGANIZATION WORK MGMT PROCESS: FAQ 10 OF 10

PaSTA allows the creation of process controls to be applied to fields on a work order, e.g. a series of compare statements can be set to ensure that when a work order is set to a status the process control is run and can be proved by several different feedback options to the user e.g. color changes messages, etc.

How does PaSTA enable tasks to be considered for outsourcing?

CONTRACTOR MANAGEMENT: FAQ 1 OF 3

At that time a decision will be made to work overtime or outsource the job. If the job is to be outsourced the job can simply be dragged and dropped to the corresponding contractor group. This will adjust the hours and work load so the remaining jobs will be handled by the in-house work force. This process requires that the different areas work together to achieve a realistic schedule i.e. PaSTA creates common communication channels.

How does PaSTA facilitate the decision to outsource a task or do it in-house?

CONTRACTOR MANAGEMENT: FAQ 2 OF 3

PaSTA provides views that allow for a simple and powerful way to view all work. This allows for jobs to be disseminated in-house or outsourced. Additionally, the user can filter all work and their skills required and then review it based on; hours, resource available, and size of the work force needed.

How does PaSTA monitor and track Contractor performance?

CONTRACTOR MANAGEMENT: FAQ 3 OF 3

Real time metrics are tracked on the dashboard. If the contractor is using the same ERP, the work orders are simply ‘directed’ to the contractor area in PaSTA. If the contractor is using a different ERP system, PaSTA will attach to that system and bring in the work orders from that system. PaSTA also allows for contractor time to be brought in via the in-house ERP or the contractor system or entered directly into PaSTA.

How does PaSTA enable determining optimum shutdown frequencies?

OUTAGE / TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT: FAQ 1 OF 5

PaSTA provides several methods to help with shutdown frequencies: The user can build model projects and schedules to determine the best course of action The user can build views based on the work required and estimated time and cost The user can also run reports such as MTBR (mean time between repair) and MTBE (meant time between event) to help determine the desired frequencies. PaSTA also provides a compressive but simple platform to allow in-depth communication to center around each shutdown. This helps to bring to light any unforeseen issues and reduces the amount of missed communication.

How does PaSTA facilitate defining the scope and determining the shutdown duration?

OUTAGE / TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT: FAQ 2 OF 5

PaSTA allows the use of its internal CPM tools or can be linked with external CPM tools. Regardless of which CPM tool is used, critical path and relationships are shown. Also, PaSTA allows for building alternative and contingency plans that can be saved and/or interject into the ‘live’ schedule as needed.

How does PaSTA enable the scheduling and allocation of tasks/orders to ensure the availability of the equipment requiring work, resources, spares and tools?

OUTAGE / TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT: FAQ 3 OF 5

All resources (personnel, equipment, spares and tools) are tracked for availability and scheduled inside of PaSTA. Equipment, spares and tools can simply be dragged and dropped to the day and hour. PaSTA provides visual indication of availability of each resource, spares, tools and equipment.

How does PaSTA facilitate the decision to outsource a task or do it in-house?

OUTAGE / TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT: FAQ 4 OF 5

PaSTA gives the organization the ability to see if a job will exceed standard work hours or work skills. At that time a decision will be made to work overtime or outsource the job. If the job is to be outsourced the job can simply be dragged and dropped to the corresponding contractor group. This will adjust the hours and work load, so the remaining jobs will be handled by the in-house work force. This process requires that the different areas work together to achieves a realistic schedule i.e. PaSTA creates common communication channels.

How does PaSTA commit to a developed shutdown plan?

OUTAGE / TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT: FAQ 5 OF 5

PaSTA allows the user to build up shutdown and start up plans that can be reused and adjusted as needed. These plans can be attached to different projects.

How does PaSTA enable the selection and grouping of maintenance tasks in order to specify facility and/or special tool requirements?

FACILITIES, TOOLS AND WORKSHOPS: FAQ 1 OF 4

PaSTA allows the user to filter/ sort and group work orders based on any fields brought into PaSTA from the ERP. In addition, package(s) consisting of; tools, materials, requirements, permits, etc. can be attached to one or many work orders. PaSTA also allows the tracking of the progression and completion of each special requirement to make the jobs “ready to work” (RTW).

How does PaSTA add special tool and/or facility requirements to maintenance tasks?

FACILITIES, TOOLS AND WORKSHOPS: FAQ 2 OF 4

PaSTA allows for tools to be dragged and dropped onto packages and for documents to be attached.

How does PaSTA enable the unique numbering of all new facilities and tools?

FACILITIES, TOOLS AND WORKSHOPS: FAQ 3 OF 4

Each package is given a unique ID and is based on the facility it is assigned to. This ID can be adjusted as needed.

How does PaSTA enable the control and management of special tools in a special tool store?

FACILITIES, TOOLS AND WORKSHOPS: FAQ 4 OF 4

PaSTA allows the tracking of special tools in the same fashion as PaSTA tracks personnel and equipment. As tools are added to jobs on the schedule, these tools are “checked” out for that time period. As other users access the “tool library” they will see where tools have been reserved via the schedule.

How does PaSTA provide for the configuration of performance measures?

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: FAQ 1 OF 12

PaSTA has three classifications of metrics a.k.a. performance measures or KPI’s.

Work Week Management metrics – these are the standard metrics that are used to determine the outcome of the organization. They can be compared across a fleet or between industries. These metrics cannot be changed or altered and are based on set formulas. These metrics are auto generated and intended to be revived at the local level. They are used to compare themselves to similar organizations.

Report metrics – these metrics are user defined and designed to steer the organization towards the desired outcome. These reports are designed to be built by the local organization to track and monitor the unique behaviors. These reports allow the organization to guide themselves towards the corporate outcomes in the way that works at the local level.

Process metrics – these metrics are based on the corporate governance and focus on the outcomes not the local details i.e. is the company moving in the desired direction. These reports are built into PaSTA to reflect the outcome that corporate is looking for but allows the individual organization to approach them in a way that works for them.

How does PaSTA enable logic and complex calculations to be applied when defining performance measures?

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: FAQ 2 OF 12

The user has the ability to adjust the parameters of each metric and build logic; i.e. equipment, area, crew, time, additive, contrastive, category, logic functions and much more. PaSTA does the heavy lifting so the user does not have to learn table structure, SQL, formatting or coding. All processes, as in scheduling, in PaSTA are ‘drag and drop’. The reporting tools allow metrics and reports to be built off any value in PaSTA. These reports can be auto generated and delivered to anyone with e-mail. The PaSTA reports provide an excellent way of ‘data mining’ information from the ERP system and/or combining information from multiple data sources.

Is it possible to build models into PaSTA to be able to perform what if analysis?

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: FAQ 3 OF 12

Yes, PaSTA allows the user to build “model” schedules and projects. These allow the user to build contingency plans and build overlapping scenarios to determine the best possible outcome. These scenarios can be intergraded into the “live” schedule on demand.

How does PaSTA allow for the definition of data sources in multiple systems?

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: FAQ 4 OF 12

PaSTA is divided into several levels of information e.g. work order, task, operation, materials, equipment, etc. Each level can be configured to accept data from multiple systems, using either SQL statements or web services. The data is then processed into PaSTA using the internal mapping tools so the data can be viewed and manipulated to achieve performance gains. New levels can be added as needed.

How is data managed to ensure the correct data from all sources is available for the performance measure?

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: FAQ 5 OF 12

PaSTA’s interfaces are structured as to ensure that all data brought into PaSTA is accurate. If any data was to come across ‘corrupted’ it is rejected and the admin is notified. PaSTA also possesses a monitoring tool that allows the admin to evaluate the data in PaSTA against the data sources and if there are any deltas they can be corrected. Any correction associated with measurements would then automatically be adjusted. First, there are key process break points where inaccurate data can be the result of improper execution of process. Here, the process break points monitor for such situations. An example of this would be when the WO’s close without hours charged to them and schedule compliance is being measured. When these process break points indicate a break in process, the corresponding performance measure can be identified as inaccurate. Second, the database structure for this application manages the data in such a way to create high accuracy in the performance measures.

Does PaSTA allow work flow functionality that where a data owner can be alerted to data load errors?

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: FAQ 6 OF 12

PaSTA allows the creation of two types of process controls: 1. Based on data trafficking into PaSTA 2. Based on data moving within PaSTA Both process controls allows notices to be sent out when certain criteria is meet. Additionally, other values can be set e.g. change color of fields, set values of fields, etc.

How does PaSTA manage data validation and integrity?

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: FAQ 7 OF 12

Data validation and integrity is managed in two ways: 1. For data inside of PaSTA; PaSTA business rules can be applied 2. For outbound data PaSTA can utilize the ERP business rules and can call stored procedures

How does PaSTA allow for setting reporting frequencies?

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: FAQ 8 OF 12

These reports are controlled by the PaSTA monitor program. The monitor samples the report generator every hour to determine if a report needs to be generated. Also, reports can also be sent on demand.

How does PaSTA enable for performance measures to be represented in a dashboard with easy navigation to select different input parameters for the performance measures, e.g. change the period for the availability or availability for a different fleet, etc.?

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: FAQ 9 OF 12

PaSTA’s dash board displays all the key metrics associated with work week management and are auto-generated. The dash board is front and center and easily accessible

Composite reports can consist of any report and are presented in a 4 block format. Each report can be built around any field in PaSTA i.e. crew, station, fleet, equipment, etc. Each report can be set to occur on an hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, Q or annually frequency.

How does PaSTA integrate with the Strategy portion of setting target values and displaying it?

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: FAQ 10 OF 12

PaSTA allows the user to set parameters around metrics. PaSTA also allows parameters to be set around process points e.g. what jobs are ready to work, are all jobs closed daily, is % scheduled set in timely manager, etc.

Can targets be easily defined for performance measures, or changed if required?

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: FAQ 11 OF 12

PaSTA allows the user to set parameters around metrics. PaSTA also allows parameters to be set around process points e.g. what jobs are ready to work, are all jobs closed daily, is % scheduled set in timely manager, etc.

Can targets be easily defined for performance measures, or changed if required?

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: FAQ 12 OF 12

PaSTA allows for a very simple user interface to adjust process points and changes as the organization grows and matures its process.